King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Saturday, August 03, 2019
Chapters: II Chronicles 33, II Kings 21
Message: Taken Captive By Satan’s Will
Hello My Friend,
There has been a lot of talk about faithful men of God renouncing their faith in Christ and turning away from the Church all together. You know, Satan is probably the most laid back person on this planet, he really does not have to do anything to turn people away from Christ, as they do it all on their own through the lusts of their flesh. Now, what the media does not tell you is that many of them, after they had been severally afflicted, came to repentance, and returned to the ministry as testimonies that you really do need Christ in this life and certainly in the next. And let me tell you, Christians are not defined by their past or any of their present sin for that matter, they are defined by their becoming a testimony of God’s mercy and grace toward all who come to Him in repentance. “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” – II Timothy 2:24-26.
“who are taken captive by him at his will.” Sin is something that will take you so far into the deep that it will drown you, and the more you try to get out of it on your own the more Satan hold you back. In fact, the most effective person to Satan is not the one who was never saved, it is the one is saved, and has fallen captive to sin. However, as long as Christ lives in us, He can break us free from Satan’s captivity. If anyone is a testimony of how God can break someone free from Satan’s captivity it is Manasseh, Hezekiah’s son who reigned in Judah after he died. Manasseh, was twelve years old when Hezekiah died, he was still a child, and under the influence of his mother, raising him under Baal worship, managed to completely turn the entire nation away from God.
“For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses. So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.” – II Chronicles 33:3.6-9.
“Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err,” In less than fifty-five years, this man completely turned the kingdom from one nation under God to one nation under Satan. It is no wonder God allowed them to destroy themselves, and sent a remnant of Israel into captivity to Babylon. Some of the most corrupt people holding leadership positions are Christians who are captive to Satan’s rule. While he can never take a soul that has received Christ as their Saviour, he can take hold of the spirit of a person, and hold them captive to their sin. In fact, sadly, there are many Christians whom have never renounced their faith, that live more sinful lives then before they were saved, and much worse than the heathen. How? Because the flesh that does not walk with Christ does not have His protection to ward off Satan’s evil. “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.” – II Peter 2:20.
“the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.” And there you have it, you cannot taste the salvation of Christ and keep eating from the plate of Satan. It is Christ who has the power to break us from Satan’s captivity, we cannot not break free from him on our own because he is too powerful for us. And if that happens, God will send judgment in an attempt to get us to repent, and return to Him. II Kings goes on to explain the judgment God gave Judah for Manasseh causing them to err, and live more wickedly than the people they drove from the land.
“Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day. Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.” – II Kings 21:11-16.
“and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;” You see, God removed His protection from them, now, everyone of their enemies will come after them, and then they are on their own. We may be saved, but if we do want God’s protection we need to be obedient to Him. Why? Two reasons, for our own sake, and for the sake of the lost who need Christ as we do. Do you think that all of Israel wanted to be a part of this? They did not, but they had no where to go, no one to guide them in the right direction. Did you notice there was not one priest or Levite mentioned? God sent a prophet to Manasseh, but he did not listen, and the judgment stood. And by the way, this was the start of the judgment that God warned Hezekiah about.
“Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God. Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah. And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.” – II Chronicles 33:11-15.
“Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.” You see, when Satan holds a Christian captive to sin they are happy living in their sin while nothing is happening to them. Christians who knowingly live in sin have no regard for the repercussions their sin brings to others, until it finally affects them, and that is when they repent. Well, some of them do, the majority of them will remain in their sin, and it will be the death of them. We cannot break free from the captivity of Satan on our own, Christ is the only one who can do that. And apart from our salvation being only by grace through our faith in Christ, faith without works is dead. Satan is too strong for us to handle on our own, we need the power of Christ on us at all times to break free from him and not get back into his capability. Salvation never exempts us from temptation, but Christ is our only power to defeat temptation. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” – I Corinthians 10:13,16,21,31.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.” – II Chronicles 33:13.
Today’s Prayer: God, I know that the Bible is not some ordinary book, it is Your Word, holy, pure, alive, and it gives life to all who want You in their lives. Reading Your Word, studying it, and following it will never return void as we receive Your Son as our Saviour, by faith, through Your grace, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to what truly is and is not acceptable to You. Lord, as our nations face judgment because they choose to live by the very things that are an abomination to You, give us Your power, strength, wisdom, and guidance to stand by Your Word, to break free from anything Satan holds us captive to. And put Your hedge of protection around us so that we can be shielded from any more of Satan’s temptations. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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